13. The Strokes - New York City Cops
The Song That Appears in One Version of ‘Is This It’ but Not the Other
Artwork by me: Enrique Seemann
Hi! Sorry, I had a very busy and hectic month. Even though I had the newsletters' drafts ready, I didn't have the time I wanted to create the illustrations for them. But I'm back, and I'm excited to write and share more newsletters with you. In this edition, I dive into one of the themes of one of my all-time favorite albums, "Is This It" by The Strokes. Without further ado, let me tell you more about it.
The Story Behind 'Is This It'
In an era when rock music seemed directionless, dominated by acts like Blink-182 and Limp Bizkit, whose innovations often strayed from the essence of classic rock, and production favored a polished, pristine sound.
The Strokes appeared to break schemes, return to basics, and give people and music what they had been missing, a true Rock & Roll band. It was not surprising that record labels competed for their signature shortly after the release of their EP ‘Modern Age’.
"Is This It" is the album that marks the beginning of a rock scene in New York. Bands like Yeah Yeah Yeahs, TV on The Radio, and Interpol would later join. It was an important moment in which Rock and Roll resurged. The story goes that after signing with RCA, The Strokes began recording the album with Gil Norton, who had produced recordings for Pixies. Although the two parties developed a good relationship, the band was unhappy with the results of preliminary sessions, which they thought sounded "too clean" and "too pretentious"; the three songs recorded with Norton were scrapped. They returned to the formula of their first EP ’The Modern Age’, and ’Is This It’ was eventually recorded with Gordon Raphael.
Before starting to record, The Strokes and Raphael organized a listening session with the musical material that Hammond Jr. and Casablancas had brought to showcase the tone and energy they liked. During the meeting, the band expressed their desire to diverge from contemporary music. Casablancas envisioned ‘Is This It’ sounding like a band from the past transported to the future to create their record. The album's approach was more deliberate than that of ‘The Modern Age’. The band aimed for most songs to emulate live performances, with some exceptions designed as unusual studio productions, incorporating a drum machine despite not using one. These tracks were meticulously worked on track by track into unconventional rock arrangements. Raphael's background in industrial music greatly influenced the album's conception.
Just as Iconic as the Music: The Album's Cover
The international cover art of ’Is This It’ was created by photographer Colin Lane. It features a photograph of a woman's rear and hip, accentuated by a leather-gloved hand suggestively resting upon it. The story of it goes this way:
“It was late 1999 or 2000. I had spent the day on a fashion shoot, and my apartment was littered with clothes and props. My girlfriend jumped out of the shower while I was messing around with a Big Shot Polaroid, a clunky, plastic box camera that I found in my parents’ attic. She was pretty beat, but I had 10 Polaroids that needed using, I had found this amazing Chanel glove and so she agreed to pose. Shooting on a Big Shot isn’t easy: you can only shoot from a specific distance, and it’s really designed for head-and-shoulders portraits. But when she slid the glove on and bent forward, I knew it was the perfect shot – simple, straightforward, graphic and just so sexy. When I developed it, I stuck it in my portfolio and thought nothing more of it.” Colin Lane to The Guardian \(2018\) Interviewer: Edward Siddons
After that, he got a commission to make a shooting for The Strokes. A few weeks after that, they invited them to hang out and shoot a few shots around the city. They piled into an old Winnebago, and their art director called to hassle them about choosing an album cover. “They were flying out to Australia the following day, and the deadline was approaching. Luckily, I’d brought my portfolio with me, and they asked if they could flick through. When they asked if they could use the ass shot, I couldn’t believe it.” Colin Lane to The Guardian \(2018\) Interviewer: Edward Siddons
But Hold Up, There's Another Cover?
For the U.S. release, the original cover art was deemed unsuitable, so an image of a subatomic particle was chosen instead. This image, shows the trajectories of real particles produced when a neutrino interacts in a liquid mixture of neon and hydrogen inside the European Big Bubble Chamber (BEBC) during the 1960s. Interestingly, this image was not entirely original, as it had been used at least twice before. It was used on Bruce Becvar's 1988 album, "The Nature of Things". Additionally, a part of the same image was used on Prince's 1990 album "Graffiti Bridge".
And That's Not the Only Contrast Between Versions!
The release of the album coincided with the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Given the sensitivity of the moment, the song "New York City Cops", which included criticisms of the New York police, was removed from the American version of the album and replaced by "When It Started". However, the vinyl version released on the same day as 9/11 retained the song, albeit with a different cover. Both versions of the album share the omission of the question mark in the title.
The U.S. Got the Short End of the Stick
I believe that for moral reasons, the United States got the 'shoddier' version of ‘Is This It’. Don't get me wrong, 'When It Started' is a good song, but I don't think it compares to 'New York City Cops', nor do I believe the cover comes close to being as iconic as the original one.
My personal thoughts and other The Strokes songs I’d recommend:
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